Welcome to Bolton's Family Friendly Sailing Club

Delph Sailing Club is a family friendly sailing club set between Egerton and Belmont on the outskirts of Bolton, with easy access from the surrounding towns of Chorley, Preston, Blackburn, Manchester and beyond.

Whether you are a complete novice or someone returning to sailing after a break, we can help give you the confidence to get out on the water and start enjoying sailing as a social or competitive pursuit.

With a competitive racing series running twice weekly from Easter to New Years day and social sailing on Friday evenings, we have something to offer all levels of sailors.

If you are looking for formal qualifications, we run RYA training on many Saturdays throughout the season and most courses are included as part of your membership fees.

Our clubhouse enjoys stunning Vistas over the rolling countryside towards Manchester and with Bank Top beer in the Bar and Carrs Pasties in the Galley it is a great place to relax after a good days sailing.

Our regular sailors range in age from 5 to 80+ often with many generations of the same family racing with each other, so sailing really is the hobby that the entire family can enjoy together.

The club also hosts numerous social events for families and friends throughout the year and of course a Christmas party for the cadets.

If you would like to see what we are all about, please pop on down any time we are sailingDelph Diary and speak to the members about how you can join our fantastic club. The bar opens once the last boat is off the water.

Alternative drop us an email and we will see what we can do to help give you a taste of sailing at Delph - Contact Us for more info.

Interested in Sailing? Why not give us a try?

Find out when our next public event is

Delph Sailing Club History

Delph reservoir was completed in 1924, to provide a 78 acre source of water for domestic / industrial use and to supply extra, cleaner water to improve the River Irwell via Delph Brook.

The Sailing Club was founded in 1962, when permission to sail on the water was granted.

The Club started modestly with two preferred dinghy classes - Fireballs and Enterprises. We used a wooden garage as the Clubhouse. This building still exists as storage, now known as the Bosun's Hut. There was no electricity, and lighting was by bottled gas! A garden shed on stilts served as the race starting box.

Membership grew, and to the original fleets was added a Handicap fleet.

Then grew a Scorpion Fleet (now defunct), Mirror Fleet (now defunct), a Laser Fleet, and more recently the Solos separated from the Handicap Fleet to have fleet status of their own.

The Miracle Fleet evolved in a similar way, also RS200s. The Fast and Slow Handicap Fleets accommodate craft which have insufficient numbers for fleet status.